What Goes On (box set)
Encyclopedia
What Goes On is a box set by The Velvet Underground
. It was originally released in 1993 by Australia
n record company Raven Records
.
had been re-issued, thanks to their rising popularity among the New Wave
community, on vinyl and compact disc
during the 1980s, the next logical steps were to issue a best-of
album and a box set. Verve Records
released The Best of The Velvet Underground: Words and Music of Lou Reed
(1989) and the latter by compiling a box set simply called The Velvet Underground (1986). This box set came with an entire album's worth of unreleased material but quickly became inessential when that bonus album was issued separately later that same year as Another View
.
The independent record company Raven Records requested and received permission from both Polygram
and Atlantic Records
to compile their own box set for the Australia
n market. Compiler Dominic Molumby took a documentary
-like approach to the project, interspersing original album cuts with rarities and spoken word
intermezzo
s. Because of the many rarities, the box set was a favourite on import of the Velvet Underground fan community.
Although largely superseded by 1995's Polydor box set, Peel Slowly and See
, What Goes On still houses tracks unique to this set (the documentary bits, the acetate
version of "Ride into the Sun" and two 1969 live tracks, "After Hours" and "I'm Sticking with You").
ed with * are spoken-word "documentary" bits. All musical tracks written by Lou Reed
except as noted.
Disc one
(3–10) taken from The Velvet Underground & Nico; (11) taken from Chelsea Girl
; (13–15) taken from White Light/White Heat
.
Disc two
(1–2) taken from White Light/White Heat
; (3, 5) taken from Another View
; (4, 12–13) taken from VU
; (6–11) taken from The Velvet Underground
.
Disc three
(1–2) taken from VU; (4, 9–10, 15) first appearance; (5–8) taken from 1969: The Velvet Underground Live
; (11–14) taken from Loaded; (16) taken from Live at Max's Kansas City
.
Additional musicians
Technical staff
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
. It was originally released in 1993 by Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n record company Raven Records
Raven Records
Raven Records is an Australian record label that specializes in retrospectives and reissues or recordings by American, British and Australian artists.Raven Records was established in 1979 by Glenn A. Baker, Kevin Mueller and Peter Shillito....
.
Recording and collection
After The Velvet Underground's back catalogueThe Velvet Underground discography
The discography of the American rock band The Velvet Underground consists of five studio albums, five live albums, thirteen compilation albums, two box sets and seven singles....
had been re-issued, thanks to their rising popularity among the New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
community, on vinyl and compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
during the 1980s, the next logical steps were to issue a best-of
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
album and a box set. Verve Records
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
released The Best of The Velvet Underground: Words and Music of Lou Reed
The Best of The Velvet Underground: Words and Music of Lou Reed
The Best of The Velvet Underground: Words and Music of Lou Reed is a compilation album by The Velvet Underground. It was released in October 1989 by Verve Records....
(1989) and the latter by compiling a box set simply called The Velvet Underground (1986). This box set came with an entire album's worth of unreleased material but quickly became inessential when that bonus album was issued separately later that same year as Another View
Another View
Another View is an outtakes compilation album by The Velvet Underground. It was released in 1986 by Verve Records and is comprised of material recorded between 1967 and 1969.-Composition and collection:...
.
The independent record company Raven Records requested and received permission from both Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
and Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
to compile their own box set for the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n market. Compiler Dominic Molumby took a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
-like approach to the project, interspersing original album cuts with rarities and spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
intermezzo
Intermezzo
In music, an intermezzo , in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work...
s. Because of the many rarities, the box set was a favourite on import of the Velvet Underground fan community.
Although largely superseded by 1995's Polydor box set, Peel Slowly and See
Peel Slowly and See
Peel Slowly and See is a five-disc box set of material by The Velvet Underground. It was released in September 1995 by Polydor.-Compilation:...
, What Goes On still houses tracks unique to this set (the documentary bits, the acetate
Acetate
An acetate is a derivative of acetic acid. This term includes salts and esters, as well as the anion found in solution. Most of the approximately 5 billion kilograms of acetic acid produced annually in industry are used in the production of acetates, which usually take the form of polymers. In...
version of "Ride into the Sun" and two 1969 live tracks, "After Hours" and "I'm Sticking with You").
Track listing
Tracks prefixPrefix
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the root of a word. Particularly in the study of languages,a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the words to which it is affixed.Examples of prefixes:...
ed with * are spoken-word "documentary" bits. All musical tracks written by Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
except as noted.
Disc one
- *"Andy Warhol Presents"
- "Melody Laughter" (live fragment) (Reed, Cale, Morrison, Tucker, PäffgenNicoNico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...
) - "HeroinHeroin (song)"Heroin" is a song by The Velvet Underground, released on their 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. Written by Lou Reed in 1964, the song is one of the band's most celebrated compositions, overtly depicting heroin use and abuse...
" (mono mix) - "I'm Waiting for the ManI'm Waiting for the Man"I'm Waiting for the Man" is a song by the American rock band The Velvet Underground, written by Lou Reed. It was first released on their 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico....
" (mono mix) - "Sunday Morning" (mono mix) (Reed, Cale)
- "I'll Be Your Mirror" (mono mix)
- "Run Run Run" (mono mix)
- "All Tomorrow's Parties" (mono mix)
- "Venus in FursVenus in Furs (song)"Venus in Furs" is a song by The Velvet Underground, written by Lou Reed and originally released on the 1967 album The Velvet Underground & Nico. Inspired by the book of the same name by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the song includes sexual themes of sadomasochism, bondage and...
" (mono mix) - "Femme Fatale" (mono mix)
- "It Was a Pleasure Then" (Reed, Cale, Päffgen)
- *"From the Music Factory"
- "White Light/White HeatWhite Light/White Heat (song)"White Light/White Heat" is a song by American avant-garde rock band The Velvet Underground, the title track on their second album, released in 1968. It is a fast, relatively aggressive start to the album, similar to the punk rock genre it would ultimately influence.The song's vocals are performed...
" - "Lady Godiva's Operation"
- "I Heard Her Call My Name"
- *"Untitled (Index)"
- *"EPI Ad"
(3–10) taken from The Velvet Underground & Nico; (11) taken from Chelsea Girl
Chelsea Girl (album)
Chelsea Girl is the debut solo album by Nico. It was released in October 1967 by Verve Records, also home to The Velvet Underground. The name of the album is a reference to Andy Warhol's 1966 film Chelsea Girls, which Nico starred in...
; (13–15) taken from White Light/White Heat
White Light/White Heat
The album briefly appeared on the Billboard 200, although only peaking at number 199. Despite its poor sales, the distorted, feedback-driven, and roughly recorded sound on White Light/White Heat became a notable influence on punk and experimental rock...
.
Disc two
- "Sister RaySister RaySister Ray may mean one of the following:* "Sister Ray", 1968 song by The Velvet Underground* A fictional enormous laser cannon in the video game Final Fantasy VII* Sister Ray , a punk rock band from Youngstown, Ohio...
" (Reed, CaleJohn CaleJohn Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
, MorrisonSterling MorrisonHolmes Sterling Morrison, Jr. was one of the founding members of the rock group The Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and singing backing vocals.-Biography:...
, Tucker) - "Here She Comes Now" (Reed, Cale, Morrison)
- "Guess I'm Falling in Love" (instrumental version) (Reed, Cale, Morrison, Tucker)
- "Stephanie Says"
- "Hey Mr Rain" (version two) (Reed, Cale, Morrison, Tucker)
- "Candy Says"
- "Some Kinda Love"
- "Pale Blue EyesPale Blue Eyes"Pale Blue Eyes" is a song written by Lou Reed and performed by The Velvet Underground. It was included on the band's eponymous 1969 album The Velvet Underground....
" - "Beginning to See the Light"
- "I'm Set Free"
- "The Murder Mystery"
- "Foggy Notion" (Reed, Morrison, YuleDoug YuleDouglas Alan Yule is an American musician and singer, most notable for being a member of The Velvet Underground from 1968 to 1973.- Early career :Yule began playing with various bands in Boston in the 1960s...
, Tucker, WeissHy Weiss-Biography:Born Hyman Y. Weiss in Romania, he was an immigrant to the United States when young and was brought up in the Bronx, New York. He started in the music industry in 1949, setting up Parody Records with his brother Sam....
) - "I Can't Stand It"
- *"Radio Ad"
(1–2) taken from White Light/White Heat
White Light/White Heat
The album briefly appeared on the Billboard 200, although only peaking at number 199. Despite its poor sales, the distorted, feedback-driven, and roughly recorded sound on White Light/White Heat became a notable influence on punk and experimental rock...
; (3, 5) taken from Another View
Another View
Another View is an outtakes compilation album by The Velvet Underground. It was released in 1986 by Verve Records and is comprised of material recorded between 1967 and 1969.-Composition and collection:...
; (4, 12–13) taken from VU
VU (album)
VU is an outtakes compilation album by The Velvet Underground. It was released in February 1985 by Verve Records.-Composition and collection:...
; (6–11) taken from The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground (album)
The Velvet Underground is the third album by American rock group The Velvet Underground. It was their first record to feature Doug Yule, John Cale's replacement. It was recorded in 1968 at TTG Studios in Hollywood, California. This album's softer sound marks a radical shift in approach in style...
.
Disc three
- "Ocean"
- "One of These Days"
- *"Introductions"
- "It's Just Too Much" (live)
- "Sweet JaneSweet Jane"Sweet Jane" is a song by The Velvet Underground, originally appearing on their 1970 album Loaded. The song was written by band's leader Lou Reed, who continued to incorporate the piece into live performances years later as a solo artist....
" (live) - "New Age" (live)
- "Over You" (live)
- "What Goes On" (live)
- "After Hours" (live)
- "I'm Sticking with You" (live)
- "Train Round the Bend"
- "Head Held High"
- "Who Loves the Sun"
- "Rock and Roll"
- "Ride into the Sun" (acetate transfer) (Reed, Cale, Morrison, Tucker)
- "After Hours" (live)
- *"No More Reunions"
- *"Thanks, Andy Warhol"
- *"I Love The Velvet Underground"
(1–2) taken from VU; (4, 9–10, 15) first appearance; (5–8) taken from 1969: The Velvet Underground Live
1969: The Velvet Underground Live
1969: The Velvet Underground Live is a live album by The Velvet Underground. It was originally released as a double album in September 1974 by Mercury Records. The September 1988 CD re-release was issued as two separate single CD volumes, with one extra track per disc...
; (11–14) taken from Loaded; (16) taken from Live at Max's Kansas City
Live at Max's Kansas City
Live at Max's Kansas City is a live album by The Velvet Underground. It was originally released on May 30, 1972, by Cotillion, a subsidiary label of Atlantic Records.-About the album:...
.
Personnel
The Velvet Underground- John CaleJohn CaleJohn Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Sterling MorrisonSterling MorrisonHolmes Sterling Morrison, Jr. was one of the founding members of the rock group The Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and singing backing vocals.-Biography:...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bass guitar, backing vocals - Lou ReedLou ReedLewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
– vocals, guitar, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Maureen TuckerMaureen TuckerMaureen Ann "Moe" Tucker is a musician best known for having been the drummer for the rock group The Velvet Underground.- The Velvet Underground :...
– percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, vocals - Doug YuleDoug YuleDouglas Alan Yule is an American musician and singer, most notable for being a member of The Velvet Underground from 1968 to 1973.- Early career :Yule began playing with various bands in Boston in the 1960s...
– vocals, bass guitar, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Adrian BarberAdrian BarberAdrian Barber is a musician / producer who is responsible for recording the Beatles "Gray Zone" Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962.-Musician / electronics:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Tommy Castanero – drums
- NicoNicoNico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...
– vocals - Billy YuleBilly YuleWilliam "Billy" Yule is best known for having been a sit-in drummer for The Velvet Underground during 1970.-1970:When in early 1970, regular Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker became pregnant, a temporary replacement was needed to fulfill the band's live obligations...
– drums
Technical staff
- The Velvet Underground – producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
s - Andy WarholAndy WarholAndrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
– producer - Tom Wilson – producer
- Geoff Haslam, Shel Kagan and The Velvet Underground – producers
- Gary KellgrenGary KellgrenGary Kellgren was an American audio engineer and co-founder of The Record Plant recording studios, along with businessman Chris Stone.-Engineering:...
- engineer - Brigid Polk – engineer